“Not a Bad Record”: Luka Doncic Assesses First Half of Lakers’ 2025–26 Season

The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2025-26 season has been a rollercoaster ride for fans. One moment, they would be celebrating wins and the next worrying about defensive lapses. Well, even their much-celebrated offense has fumbled on set plays on and off. But their record shows that not all is bad, and Luka Doncic emphasized while assessing the team’s season so far.

Having played 41 games, the Lakers are at the midway point in their season. They’re sixth in the West, with a 25-16 record, with plenty to work on to emerge as a genuine post-season threat.

Doncic knows that they have to be sharper in the second half, but insisted that their record isn’t all that bad. Some would, of course, disagree. After all, the Lakers were hovering around the #2 spot at one point early in the season, before losses pushed them down the pecking order. But the Slovenian superstar has his logic.

“It’s not a bad record,” Doncic said after the Lakers’ win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. “Obviously, it could be better, but sometimes, we play like this [against Toronto] and against Atlanta, it gives us a better chance to win.” 

Doncic scored 25 in the Lakers’ 110-93 victory over the Raptors. It was a rather comfortable outing for the purple and gold outfit. Against Atlanta, they won 141-116. These victories have instilled confidence in them that they have what it takes to compete at the highest level.

Luka on the first half of the season:

“It’s not a bad record obviously it could be better” pic.twitter.com/JG5TdKwBef

— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) January 19, 2026

The story of the Lakers’ season, however, has been inconsistent. Doncic spoke about the teams they defeated, but did not mention the blowout losses to the Hornets and the Trail Blazers. So when he said the Lakers can be “better,” it could not be more accurate.

Doncic, however, suggested that by looking at how they won against Toronto and Atlanta, they can create a blueprint to follow. The Lakers have a bunch of difficult games coming up against the Clippers, Warriors, Thunder, and the Spurs. They can’t be loose and chaotic on both ends of the floor against these elite sides.